Free Chain of Command by CG Cooper Page A

wanted to run to him, throw her arms around him and never let go. But she resisted, waiting to see what, if anything, he would say.
    “I don’t know what to say.” The words slipped from his mouth and entered her heart like a poison dagger. This was it.
    “It’s okay. I understand,” said Diane.
    He looked confused. “What?”
    “I said I understand. I understand why you have to…why you have to say what you have to say.”
    Still the look of confusion in his eyes, those eyes…
    Cal took a hesitant step forward.
    “Diane, I—”
    “It’s okay. I shouldn’t have done what I did. Don’t worry, I’ll be okay.”
    Another step forward and she could see him better, his eyes soft, wondering.
    “Wait, did you think…did you think I was coming here to break up with you?”
    “Aren’t you?” the words came out in a sob.
    Suddenly, he rushed forward and enveloped her in his arms. All the waiting, all the worrying, it all converged as the emotions burst forth and Diane allowed herself to be consumed.
     
    She didn’t know how long they sat there, saying nothing, his arms never budging from their protective embrace. The beat of his heart against hers. His steady breathing. She couldn’t find the courage to look at him, keeping her face nestled against his chest.
    If this was going to be the last memory she had with him, Diane prayed it would last forever.
    “I’m sorry,” he said.
    She didn’t reply.
    “Top told me you stopped by the house.”
    Her body tensed involuntarily. Here it was. The axe to cleave them apart.
    “Uh huh,” she muttered.
    “That’s why I came by as soon as we landed.”
    Diane sucked in a huge breath and pushed herself back. If he was going to do this she would have the courage to look him in the eye.
    “I shouldn’t have—”
    He silenced her by putting a finger to her lips.
    “Let me explain,” he said, adjusting his position on the bed. “You don’t know how many times I came to see you with the plan all laid out.”
    “What plan?”
    Cal looked away. “I’m no good for you, Diane.”
    Her hand reached up to his cheek and turned his face back to hers.
    “You are perfect for me.”
    His eyes hardened, again the resolve. “No. You don’t know what I do. It’s no life for someone with your potential. You have so much to give, and I’m…well, I’m…”
    “You’re mine,” she said softly.
    “That little scratch I got was nothing, Diane. I could disappear and you’d never see me again. You don’t deserve that. You should be with some hotshot lawyer who’ll take you to Bora Bora.”
    The absurd comment made her burst out laughing. She couldn’t control it, eyes closed, head thrown back as the ridiculousness of the situation bubbled over.
    “I don’t see what’s so funny,” he said, his tone with that edge that she usually heard when he was on one of his rare anti-politician rants.
    Finally the laughs and giggles subsided and she could look at him again.
    “We are both complete and total idiots, Cal Stokes.”
    His eyebrows shot up at the comment.
    “What are you…?”
    “Just shut up and listen to me.” She laughed again. “I love you, Cal Stokes. Do you think I’d go into something as huge as love without doing a little homework? I don’t know exactly what you do for a living, Cal, but I sure as hell know it isn’t wining and dining as a consultant.”
    “But I—”
    “I told you to shut up!”
    She was overjoyed to see him smile, that mischievous grin that came out when they were alone. He put his hands up in surrender.
    “Thank you,” she said. “Do you think I’m the first woman to fall in love with someone in your line of work? I know the risks. I know it won’t be easy. We’ll have crappy days and unexpected absences. But I don’t care. I want to be with you, despite the risks, despite the sacrifice. I’ve lived the last eight years thinking I knew what I wanted. And then one day you step into my life like the stubborn Marine you